Tag Archives: Sports

Charlotte FC Beats Red Bull New York 2-0

By Raquel Laskowski

The match between Charlotte FC and Red Bull New York came down to which goalkeeper was the better passer, a difference that helped separate the visiting team from their New Jersey-based opponents in a 2-0 victory on July 25.

Keepers Ethan Horvath (Red Bull New York) and Kristijan Kahlina (Charlotte) each stood at their post, ready to block the shots that would soon encroach on the net behind them. They watched and waited. With both teams sharing the same 6-6-4 (win-loss-draw) record, the anticipation was high.

Charlotte started strong, but by minute three, New York had majority possession, nearly scoring from a corner kick. However, defender Matthew Dos Santos miscalculated a pass from a later set piece, handing Charlotte possession of the ball. At minute six, Horvath broke and Charlotte midfielder Pep Biel scored the team’s opening goal.

At the ten minute mark, Kahlina painted a rainbow above the field with a goal kick to Horvath, who smashed the ball out of bounds. Two minutes later, Charlotte midfielder Ashley Westwood scored off a low shot at goal after forward Kerwin Vargas found him from the left side.

Unfortunately for their fans, New York couldn’t get the ball past Kahlina. The major difference between the teams’ strategies was the use of their respective keepers. While Charlotte utilized their keeper’s strong kicks and ability to find openings, New York wasn’t using Horvath in its passing game. This was evident in the first half, where Kahlina continuously helped Charlotte stretch their passing lanes from one side of the field, back to him, and then back to the other side with a quick ambush towards the home team’s goal.

In contrast, New York’s offense relied on passing between midfielders and wings with high crosses. That strategy allowed Charlotte to knock the ball away with ease and regain possession. Horvath received only his second pass in the 39th minute of the game. He kicked it down the field, where Charlotte players again stole possession and passed the ball downfield towards the goal.

When the whistle blew and the second half began, Red Bull New York adopted Charlotte’s formula: using their keeper to add to the team’s on-field passing dynamic. With both teams passing from keeper to keeper, the gameplay turned from formations and passing plays to aggressive blocks and steals. New York’s new strategy worked. They held possession for the majority of the second half, taking 23 shots on their way.

Unfortunately for New York, their late shift in strategy could not make up for their performance in the first half of the game. Kahlina made 47 pass attempts, nearly doubling Horvath’s 19. It makes sense that the final score followed suit.

Frustration and the Future: New York Red Bulls Disappoint

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By Ahmad Elhassan

Blasting fireworks, rolling out talented young players and hosting an oddly large Elmo, Red Bull New York seemed poised to make an explosive return to Sports Illustrated Stadium after the MLS World Cup break. But at the sound of the final whistle, fans looked up at a 0-2 score against Charlotte FC asking a single question: “Was the crown too heavy for our Red Bulls?”

Within twelve minutes of kickoff, Charlotte midfielders Pep Biel and Ashley Westwood spoiled New York’s first home in over two months, silencing fans with what would be the only two goals of the game. At the start of the game, all eyes were on Red Bull New York’s eighteen-year-old phenom striker Julian Hall, but attention was quickly diverted to Charlotte’s mastery of the midfield and rapid counterattacks. Both goals came on the end of low-swung crosses from wingers Liel Adaba and Kerwin Vargas. New York’s midfield was being carved up.

New York responded in the second half with a poor performance by midfielder Ronald Donkor and missed chances by captain Emil Forsberg. The crowd was in utter shock. Charlotte keeper Kristijan Kahlina made incredible saves, winning him the respect of a hostile crowd, though New York’s 16 attempted shots were more often directed at the crowd than the net.

A showdown between Red Bull winger Cade Cowell and Charlotte defender Harry Toffolo displayed how challenging yet wholesome a physical battle of speed and precision can be. The two hugged after each slide tackle, quietly acknowledging one another’s skill and sound tactics.

A series of fouls led to a red card for Adri Mehmeti near the end of the game. The seventeen-year-old’s sendoff gave New York a reason to utilize the veterans and experienced transfer players who serve as mentors for their younger teammates. Fosberg commented on the situation after the game. “Like I said, it’s always easy to blame everybody after you lose,” he said.

All-Star Hall appeared particularly upset with the lack of pressing by his fellow attackers. His visible pouting captured the sorrow New York felt in the final half of the game, and the frustration that Hall, specifically, may have felt with the tactics of his team.

As the crowd booed the home team off the pitch, a Charlotte crown loomed over soccer’s biggest untapped market: U.S. fans. The energy in the stadium was high, but not high enough to carry Red Bull New York to a win. Home-field advantage proved less useful to the team than a midfield that could execute.

But maybe it was just the Jersey summer air.

Red Bull New York’s Defensive Drought Continues

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By Yeisbel Peña

Charlotte FC needed just twelve minutes to decide their July 25 match at Sports Illustrated Stadium, beating Red Bull New York, 2-0, in a match decided not by sustained pressure, but by consistent defensive lapses.

Both goals came in the opening stretch of the game, with Charlotte’s Pep Biel striking in the seventh minute and Ashley Westwood scoring another in the twelfth. On the other end of the field, Charlotte Keeper Kristijan Kahlina finished with five saves to close out the shutout in front of a home crowd that had barely settled in their seats before the deficit hit two.

The early Red Bull collapse reflected a season-long struggle for the team’s back line. Dylan Nealis, Justin Che, Julián Bazán and Matthew Dos Santos have rotated through the defense amid injuries and inconsistent form. Neither of the team’s centerbacks closed in on Biel in time to stop his opener. Charlotte worked the ball through the midfield unchallenged, landing a low finish from just inside the box. Westwood found even more room on the second goal, arriving at the back post without a Red Bull defender in sight.

Charlotte’s defense had its shaky stretches, too. The visiting team conceded chances late in first-half stoppage time and again after the break as New York’s Cade Cowell, Emil Forsberg and Adri Mehmeti pushed forward, looking for a way back into the match. Mehmeti forced a save in the closing minutes of the game, but Charlotte’s back line, marshaled by Kahlina’s five stops, held on comfortably enough that the outcome was rarely in doubt.

The loss dropped the Red Bulls to 6-4-7 on the season, 22 points, while Charlotte improved to 7-4-6, 25 points, tightening the race in a crowded Eastern Conference table. Neither club sits comfortably in its conference standing, a detail that fits a broader trend across the league this year. MLS teams have generally found it easier to score than to stop opponents from scoring.

Roster turnover, congested fixture lists tied to international windows, and league-wide spending that favors attackers over centerbacks have left many clubs cycling through back-line combinations without ever settling on a consistent unit. Saturday’s match compressed that trend into a dozen minutes, as two early defensive breakdowns decided a game that otherwise stayed competitive from end to end.

For Red Bull New York, the result renews questions about whether the roster has kept pace with a division growing more direct in the final third at a time when reliable defensive options remain difficult to find across the MLS.

Clean Up on the BULLevard

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By Kamiyah Hill

As thousands of fans took their seats at Sports Illustrated Stadium, Red Bull New York was not the only focus of the crowd. The stadium, which holds over 20,000 people, leaves a lasting impression on anyone who has ever stepped inside. During Saturday’s game against Charlotte FC, fans filled the stadium hoping to see a win. But would that excitement hold?

One reason for the excitement: Game day, July 25, was the birthday of the team’s mascot, REDD. A party for REDD was held at a fan event called The BULLevard, where the well-known cast of Sesame Street welcomed young Red Bull fans to celebrate with meet-and-greets with Elmo, coloring stations, face painting, and games. The Red Bull logo was everywhere. Fans were encouraged to arrive early to receive a limited edition REDD bobble head.

After making it past security, the majority of the crowd went up a large staircase to the stadium’s concourse, where food vendors lined the walkway. The smell of the greasy chicken tenders, fries and pizzas was striking. Fans searched for their seats in sections labeled above staircases, which made the area easy to navigate.

The stadium appeared to be freshly cleaned; the floors were wet and shiny, presumably mopped and pedestrians navigated the paths without much foot traffic. In a women’s bathroom near third story Section 224, the floor was clear save for a few tiny ants marching between the stalls. The bathroom was accessible, fully stocked and welcoming to all, with many stalls and sinks available.

The rows in the upper stands were close together, forcing fans to stand from their seats to allow others to pass or turn vertically to slip through, which made it hard for others to get to their seats. The stands were trash-free and the seats left no residue.

Fireworks went off before the game began, leaving behind a thick grey smoke that made it hard to see the action. As the smoke cleared, children and adults walked onto the pitch holding a New York Red Bull banner during the national anthem, which was followed by another firework display. The game began shortly after.

At halftime, youth teams took the field while Elmo helped REDD celebrate his birthday with a cake. If the environment was supposed to be family friendly, many fans did not receive the message. Older fans yelled out profanities and degrading chants, disappointed by their team’s poor performance in a 0-2 loss to Charlotte FC.

Despite the loss and the inconsiderate behavior of some of those present, the fans had fun and the stands were clean. For some, that’s enough. But for others, the bathroom conditions, lingering fireworks smoke and lack of space in the stands might be a dealbreaker.

‘Sesame Street’ After Dark

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By Emma Gaskill

Red Bull New York’s first home game after the World Cup on Saturday was supposed to be a welcoming, kid-friendly environment because of its “Sesame Street” theme, but rowdy adults got in the way.

New York fans were excited to finally see their team back in action as red and yellow filled the stadium. Red Bull’s mascot, Redd, was even celebrating his second birthday with fellow sports mascots from around the country, and special guest Elmo.

Although the night was meant to be special, New York fans were quickly disappointed as Charlotte scored two quick goals before the tenth minute. Naturally, the adults in the stadium became angry with the performance of their team.

Not everyone felt the same amount of anger. A few rows into section 225, there were kids no older than ten or eleven enjoying their night. But the emotions of frustrated grown-up fans caused those kids to move seats, leaving the yelling adults behind.

This highlighted a key divide between fans in this game: Kids versus adults.

Both groups handled Saturday’s game differently, specifically the losing, and their reactions weren’t necessarily mixing.

In a game centered around kids, there were adults who clearly disregarded the audience around them. They shouted at refs about calls, or the lack thereof, that they didn’t agree with. For instance, they shouted when Adri Mehmeti was sent off with a red card. The general play by the athletes also caused an uproar among fans.

In the same 225 section, a little kid that was no older than eight or nine was simply cheering for New York, hoping that they would score goals and win the game.

New York’s Emil Forsberg, the team captain, talked about how he liked the energy of the fans and how it brought a good feeling to the team. That same energy didn’t have a similar impact on the children in the crowd. Parents of those children now have to think about the environment they are putting their kids into at Red Bulls games. Sports games are fun, but parents also have a responsibility to their children.

Adults are going to get angry when their teams lose a game and kids are always going to be at sports games. Should these adults have reigned in their vulgarities at a game specifically marketed to kids? Maybe. But should parents know that their kids might hear some bad words at a Red Bull game?

Definitely.

Liberty’s 6th woman rallies to bring a comeback

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By Bryan R.V.

The New York Liberty were down in the first quarter. Way down. With 1:32 left on the clock, they trailed the Los Angeles Sparks 24-15. L.A. was relentless. When Rae Burall walled off Natasha Cloud from getting into the paint, it seemed like another missed opportunity. But Cloud spun wide and with help from Isabelle Harrison, put up a shot to let it fly.

Bucket.

The crowd roared with excitement after witnessing the masterpiece of a play. The sixth woman had arrived.

Just over 16,000 people were in attendance to watch the Liberty, one of the best teams in the league and the Sparks, one of the worst, at the Barclays Center. Liberty fans cheered for a comeback after L.A. got off to a hot start, looking to extend its four-game win streak. The Sparks dominated early, with Kelsey Plum launching fearless 3s while New York stood paralyzed. Things worsened when Breanna Stewart exited three minutes into the game with a leg injury. At halftime, the Liberty trailed 58-45. All the momentum belonged to the Sparks.

The response came from the fans.

The Liberty faithful poured their hearts out like their lives were on the line. Ellie the Elephant, New York’s world-famous mascot, put on a performance that could rival Beyoncé. The team picked up speed in the third, scoring 24 points. Natasha Cloud and Sabrina Ionescu locked in and made repeated big plays, the fans going ballistic over each highlight. Cloud gave it her all, scoring 22 points and putting on a show after each bucket. Ionescu recorded her 16th 30-point game, a new franchise record. But what sent the fans into absolute madness was a simple free throw.

With 2:18 left on the clock, Ionescu was rewarded with one shot and the opportunity to tie up the game. Just like Atlas, Ionescu carried the weight of the world to keep the Liberty’s win streak alive.

Bucket. 95-95.

New York had completed the comeback, and the torch was blazing hot. The jumbotron words jumped on screen, the arena lights tried to give someone an epileptic seizure, the fans rallied to cheer on their favorite team. But with the score tied at 99-99 and the clock ticking toward zero, the Spark’s Rakia Jackson launched a desperate shot over the Liberty’s Stephanie Talbot. Bucket.

Rickea Jackson Devastates New York City

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By Dominic T.

The July sun wasn’t the only thing heating up in Brooklyn on Saturday night. As Kelsey Plum of the Los Angeles Sparks stood looking frustrated at center court, the Liberty’s Natasha Cloud couldn’t do anything but grin while the crowd roared.

Fittingly, a hyper-intense contest ended in a frantic layup by Sparks forward Rickea Jackson to beat the buzzer and put an end to New York’s 15-point comeback with a 101-99 victory. Silence fell over the arena so quickly you’d think someone had died on the court, while Los Angeles celebrated over the gravestone. Jackson finished the game with 24 points on 9-15 shooting, 4-6 from three.

The recent explosion in popularity of the WNBA directly contributed to the passion both on the court and in the stands that night. When players faced off emotionally and physically, the crowd erupted. When the players are invested, the fans are invested at the games, on TV and online. In turn, the league can invest more into its players. The 2025 season has been defined by its fierceness, and it’s projected to earn $1 billion in revenue.

Performances like that of the Liberty’s Sabrina Ionescu get even more attention as a result of the growing audience size. In her 16th career 30-point game, setting a franchise record, the 5’11” guard contributed eight rebounds, six assists, and four steals. Her final basket came with 23 seconds on the clock, tying the game 99-99 and sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Perhaps the only person with more hustle than Cloud, meanwhile, was the man mopping the court in between offensive sets. The guard’s 22-point, nine-assist outing was sprinkled with multiple enthusiastic confrontations with Plum. Her death stare into the stands lit a fire in the crowd after a quick-step and-1 in the fourth quarter.

Despite Cloud’s hustle, Plum managed to orchestrate the Sparks offense, scoring 20 points and dishing out eight assists. The Liberty simply didn’t have an answer in the paint after Breanna Stewart went down with a hamstring injury three minutes into the game.

With the loss just past the halfway point in the season, the Liberty ended their home stand 6-2, clinging to the first seed in the east. The Sparks expanded their red-hot win streak to five in an attempt to save their season. No matter who comes out on top this season, every team in the WNBA has won the hearts of basketball fans across the country.

The WNBA Has New Players. We Call Them Officials

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By Selah D.

When fans criticize WNBA officiating, it’s rarely about one bad call — rather, it’s the inconsistency that sparks anger. One night, physicality is ignored; the next, the same play draws a foul. This makes it extremely difficult for players to gauge how far they can push the boundaries.

As a result of the lack of consistency, every foul can sway the game one way or another. Players, coaches, and fans are increasingly upset that officials are changing the outcome of games instead of the players.

This season, several conflicts between teams have broken out mid-game due to inactive officiating. Take the Indiana Fever-Connecticut Sun game just before the All-Star break, in which a highly anticipated matchup was derailed by constant physical altercations. Instead of just playing basketball, multiple players were fined or ejected for what was fundamentally a lack of consistent, effective calls made by the officials.

In the press conference following the game, Fever head coach Stephanie White commented on the officiating: “When the officials don’t get control of the ballgame, when they allow that stuff to happen — and it’s been happening all season long — this is what happens. You’ve got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do and when you allow them to play physical, they’re gonna compete. [The officials have] gotta get control of it, they gotta be better.”

Not only do the officiating problems create opportunities for conflicts during games, but also may be one cause of injuries that have plagued the WNBA this season. Dangerous plays have become increasingly common. Excessive fouls and over-the-top physicality lead to situations where players are highly subject to injury. This year, Caitlin Clark, Kayla Thornton, Breanna Stewart, and many other prominent players have all missed time while hurt. With concerns related to the health of star players, officials may finally be held accountable.

Whether it’s Paige Bueckers asking the refs if they need her glasses, Diana Taurasi saying she’ll see them in the lobby, or Sabrina Ionescu daring them to tech her, players are fed up with how the refs are impacting the game. Inconsistent officiating has been a league-wide problem for far too long, and now. With viewership at an all-time high, the issue needs to be addressed now more than ever. Fixing WNBA refereeing will create a better game experience not only for those playing and coaching, but for the fans watching too.

Buzzer Beater Downs NY Liberty

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By Arianna S.

Stepping into the Barclay’s Center 90 minutes before a game feels ritualistic. The lines are short, the corridors are all but empty, and the promise of what’s to come hums in the air as the first few fans prepare for tipoff.

Slowly, the seafoam green tide rises, flooding every level. New York Liberty jerseys, signs, face paint — suddenly, Barclays is alive. Chants begin in pockets, swelling into unified roars. When player introductions roll across the Jumbotron, each name — Jones, Ionescu, Cloud, Stewart, Fiebich — is met with uproar. The crowd isn’t just watching; it’s performing.

Then the game begins.

When the New York Liberty took on the L.A. Sparks at home on July 26, they came in on a five-game win streak, ready to take on a team they had defeated a few weeks earlier.

Jonquel Jones got the first points on the board for the Liberty early, making the New York faithful believe it’d be a game of triumphant moments. Instead, it was the beginning of a rather dull first quarter, involving bad passes, missed shots, and aggravating calls. The energy on the court was not matching the energy in the stands, especially after Breanna Stewart left the game with a leg injury three minutes before the end of the period.

Even as the Liberty pulled closer in the second half, it felt as though the tone on the court had been set against them, and it never quite lifted. In the end, a last-second desperation shot gave the Sparks the 101-99 victory, and a five-game win streak.

Though New York came in with momentum, superior talent, and home-court advantage, none of it seemed to matter once the clock started. The chemistry that usually characterizes the reigning champions felt off, and while individual moments sparked the momentum fans expected, the Liberty never fully connected. That one slow quarter turned into a game in which a top-tier never seemed to be able to keep up their typical pace.

Thankfully for the Liberty, the Brooklyn crowd kept it hyped throughout, cheering as if they’d never see these players again. Sometimes, it’s the fans who make nights like these unforgettable.

School Sports Put Students At COVID Risk

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Pxfuel

This story was reported by the staff of The Princeton Summer Journal and written by Kayla Bey, Jariel Christopher, Melanie Paredes, and Daniel Sanchez.

Summer F., 17, is a high school senior in West Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she plays varsity volleyball. In March, Louisiana was stricken with one of the earliest and worst U.S. outbreaks of COVID-19, forcing the shutdown of classroom learning and youth sports. But months passed, cases subsided, and by early June the state had okayed the resumption of practices for fall sports. When Summer returned to volleyball practice, however, she felt her school, Port Allen High, might be courting disaster. “Most [athletes] decided to wear masks, but it didn’t last long,” she said. “It’s sometimes hot in the gym and with workouts it’s hard to breathe.”

Several regulations were in place, including prepractice temperature checks and a prohibition on locker room access. But the school, Summer suggested, was partly relying on students to police themselves, asking them to report any virus symptoms or contact with infected individuals. In July and August, cases again began to rise in Louisiana, which now has the highest per-capita infection rate in the country. Volleyball practice continued three times a week, as scheduled.

Port Allen High is following the re-opening guidelines set in June by the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (LHSAA). But the regulations may not be addressing major drivers of the virus. Cloth face masks are encouraged for coaches, but are not recommended for athletes engaging in “high-intensity aerobic activity.” Perhaps more troublingly, the LHSAA has has not prohibited teams from congregating in enclosed indoor facilities, from “meeting rooms” to gymnasiums. COVID-19 is thought to
spread primarily through airborne particles in poorly ventilated spaces.

According to Port Allen principal James Jackson, “two to three” student athletes have
recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus. But he defends the school’s protocols. “We never had an outbreak on any team,” he told The Princeton Summer Journal. This, he said, suggests the infections were “due to some type of gathering that they may have had outside of school.”

The situation at Port Allen High School is a microcosm of America’s unruly and improvised approach to safely resuming high school athletics.

In July, the Summer Journal conducted a survey of 33 school districts’ sports reopening plans, polling schools from California to Rhode Island. The results varied wildly.
Schools in Montgomery County, Maryland canceled summer practices and fall sports, as did the state of New Mexico. But in Chicago, Illinois, Orange City, Florida, and Tahlequah, Oklahoma, summer practices or conditioning drills continued. Some districts, such as Boston, Massachusetts, called off summer programming but pledged to resume competition in September. School districts were almost evenly split between those that held and cancelled summer practices—though districts in the Northeast,
where the virus hit early, tended to have more restrictions than elsewhere.

The survey may be most telling for what districts didn’t know. Many indicated that coaches would be wearing face coverings, but most were non-committal about how
athletes were meant to wear masks or socially-distance in team settings. The school district encompassing Orlando, Florida provided a detailed presentation about its summer practice protocol. Several weeks later, amid sharply rising coro-
navirus cases, the district postponed all practices until the end of August. Few districts stated with any clarity how fall competitions would be conducted safely, if at all. If anything, the survey reflected the Frankenstein monster that is America’s patchwork response to the pandemic.

While the COVID-19 fatality rate remains extremely low for minors, the resumption of classroom instruction and organized sports could spread the virus to coaches, teachers, and family members. Unlike professional sports teams, which have rigorous testing protocols, most high schools have virtually no way of detecting asymptomatic transmission between students.

For now, Summer is deciding to play volleyball, despite her anxieties. “I feel as if they do not care about our safety, even though there are some precautions put in place,” she said, citing her district’s decision to re-open.

“Most students who play sports are choosing to go to school in August because sports is all they have. For some, it’s their senior year. Who doesn’t want to play sports their senior year?”

On the night of July 16, the Gwinnett County Board of Education convened outside of Atlanta, Georgia. Though the county had the second-most COVID-19 infections in the state, the school district would resume in-person learning the following month. Just one board member, Everton Blair Jr., voiced his disapproval. After he spoke and as cameras continued to roll, Chairwoman Louise Radloff muttered, “I could strangle him.”

Radloff, who is white, later called her comment “out of order,” and apologized to Blair, who is Black. The subject of re-opening high school sports in Georgia, where football is close to a religion, has been no less charged.

Early in the summer, the Georgia High School Association released a strict re-opening protocol. Locker rooms were off-limits and group sizes were limited. But on July 22, with football season looming, the GHSA relaxed the rules. Locker rooms were opened and
athletes could huddle in unlimited number. Asked about the district’s latest protocols, Gwinnett County Assistant Superintendent Reuben Gresham told the Summer Journal, “It is not feasible for student athletes to social distance.”

As it turns out, it may not be feasible to relax standards either. On July 29, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that 655 positive cases had been shared with the GHSA,
more than double the number on file two weeks earlier.

By August, Georgia had cancelled summer football scrimmages. It’s anyone’s guess if most districts will play football in September.

“The decisions necessitated by the current pandemic are literally changing almost daily,” said Steve Figueroa, Director of Media Relations for GHSA. “What we believed would be the case a month or even a week ago has often proven to be quite different in the present.”

As states scramble to re-start the school year, there appears to be an inverse correlation between high coronavirus rates and postponements.

Some of the states with the highest infection rates in the country, such as Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, say they are proceeding with fall sports.

Meanwhile, some of the states with the lowest rates, such as Oregon and Colorado, have postponed them until 2021. (Some of the hardest-hit states are also some of the most
enthusiastic about high school football.)

School districts committed to gridiron clashes under “Friday night lights” may consider heeding the Centers for Disease Control. Players are at especially high risk for transmission, the CDC warns, during “full competition between teams from different geographic areas.”

But for schools that play it safe, and postpone sports, will there be unintended consequences?

“Swimming has been my life,” said 17-year-old Michael F., a senior at West Boca Raton Community High School. Ranked 25th in the state of Florida and 422nd in the nation, he is one of the best at his craft. Last year, he started generating interest from recruiters from Georgia Tech, The College of Wooster, and a number of other schools.

But what will happen to that interest—and the scholarships that could come with it—if sports don’t resume?

The Florida High School Athletic Association has released three options for returning to
sports, but Palm Beach County has not specified which they will choose.

If sports don’t resume, “recruiting will be harder than ever,” said Monte Chapman, who coaches track and field at West Boca Raton. “There will be no way of approximating how much an athlete has or has not improved.”

In New York City, school officials have similar concerns. Ciana DeBellis is an assistant principal at the Fordham Leadership Academy in the Bronx. “We have students that were going to college on scholarships,” she told the Summer Journal. “I’m not really sure how that is going to work.”

On August 9, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York City—like Chicago, Philadelphia, and other major cities—would be reopening its public schools for in-person instruction. But high school sports in the Big Apple, for better or for worse, would remain indefinitely postponed.